The Natufian culture, a Mesolithic culture, existed from 12,500 to 9,500 BC in the Levant, a region in the Eastern Mediterranean. It was unusual in that it was sedentary, or semi-sedentary, before the introduction of agriculture. The Natufian communities are possibly the ancestors of the builders of the first Neolithic settlements of the region, which may have been the earliest in the world. There is some evidence for the deliberate cultivation of cereals, specifically rye, by the Natufian culture, at the Tell Abu Hureyra site, the site for earliest evidence of agriculture in the world. Generally, though, Natufians made use of wild cereals. Animals hunted include gazelles

A mastodon rib bone with a projectile point lodged within it has been dated precisely to 13,800 years ago. This evidence places human habitation in North America before the Clovis hunters, who many academics had argued were the North American continent's original inhabitants.

The first hunter-gatherers settle in the Maya highlands and lowlands.

Western style arrowheads and coprolites found in Oregon caves date to around 13000 years ago and show that it is likely that multiple cultures inhabited the Americas during this period when it was previously believed that only the Clovis culture lived here.

About 12,500 years ago Oregon is scoured by huge floods as ice dams break and giant lakes of glacial meltwater flow to the ocean.

A special mention of the Clovis is deserved, not least of all for the importance in reference to early human culture in the Americas. Radiocarbon dating of Clovis material dates it to this period.

Projectile points were discovered near the modern city of Clovis in New Mexico, and were made from the finest stone resources available. Clovis point manufacture has since become a benchmark in American human immigration. Direct reference to Clovis culture is made when referring to human immigration, and due to the hazy origin of Clovis culture, archaeological sites of the Americas are often noted for the presence or lack of presence of Clovis material.

The Clovis First theory suggests that the first people to inhabit the Americas were those associated to Clovis culture and crossed the Bering land bridge from Asia to America some 15,000 years ago. The opposition to this is the suggestion that humans crossed into America 40,000 years ago which has been difficult to prove.

The site of Taima Taima is astonishing because it shows evidence of pre Clovis settlement of humans. Did humans swiftly navigate North America after crossing the Bering land bridge to reach South America? Or was there an earlier migration which reached South America before Clovis culture even began? The search for answers still continues. Dating is estimated as far back as 13,000 years.